Estonia on five projections

Estonia covers 44,424 km² of ground. Mercator draws it 3.69 times over. Area and shape readings on all five projections, each one measured.

This object

True area
44,424 km²
Anchor latitude
58.6° N
Angular radius
1.4°
Draggable latitude range
-83.9° … 84.1°

On five projections

Each number is measured against its own projection's equator, not against another projection. These five rows do not share an axis - they are five answers to the same question: what did this map give up to lay this place flat?

ProjectionArea distortionShape distortion
Equirectangular1.921.92
Mercator3.691.00 constant
Natural Earth1.461.52
Equal Earth1.00 constant1.64
Gall-Peters1.00 constant1.85

Mercator inflates it most, 3.69 times over. Equirectangular stretches it most: its long axis is 1.92 times its short one.

The same size, drawn otherwise

Nothing in the catalogue is close to Estonia's area at a far enough latitude to be worth the comparison.

Bigger than the map admits

These cover more ground than Estonia and Mercator draws them smaller anyway.

  • Suriname: Suriname is truly 3.26 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.13 times bigger.
  • Bangladesh: Bangladesh is truly 3.02 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.02 times bigger.
  • Nicaragua: Nicaragua is truly 2.93 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.20 times bigger.
  • Eritrea: Eritrea is truly 2.69 times larger, and Mercator still draws this one 1.27 times bigger.

On an equal-area projection this section is empty, for every object there is. An equal-area map draws in proportion to true area, so it cannot draw a larger thing smaller. That is a definition, not a coincidence.

Open it in the tool

Drag Estonia across the latitude bands and the readout follows.